Opponents of Federalism
Are Mired in a Time Warp

By Charles Fried. Mr. Fried, a Harvard Law professor, was solicitor general in the second Reagan administration. He was one of the lawyers for the winning side in the VAWA case.

T he Constitution grants Congress the power to "regulate commerce among the several states." But that doesn't mean Congress can give women who are the victims of "gender motivated violence" a federal cause of action against their assailants. For that reason, the Supreme Court yesterday struck down the Violence Against Women Act...